Pregnant Woman Under Fire for Her Extreme Diet

A pregnant woman in Australia is under fire for her extreme plant-based diet. Loni Jane Anthony revealed on her blog Aleven:11 that she sometimes eats 20 bananas a day as part of her fruit-based meal plan.

According to News Australia, for the last three years Anthony has been following Doug Graham's 80/10/10 Diet (80% carbs, 10% fat, 10% protein), which requires eating a lot of uncooked fruits and vegetables. "I came across the 80:10:10 Diet from an extreme fruitarian," Anthony told News Australia. Happy with the results, Anthony, who has more than 100,000 instagram followers, often posts selfies of her pregnant bikini- (or bra-) clad body.

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News of Anthony's unusual pregnancy diet has sparked much controversy. Many accused Anthony of starving her unborn child. On The Frisky, hotamale007 worried that Anthony was "image obsessed." MC89 wrote, "Nutritional deficiency during pregnancy isn't something to be messing around with." And OhYeahBaby wrote, "Considering all her exercise, she's only consuming about 1,000 calories per day. That's called malnutrition."

But Anthony is defending her diet. "The negative feedback doesn't get to me because the people who are slamming me for it haven't tried it themselves and don't have any education about it," she told News Australia. She added, "They're probably deep down interested but they don't have the will-power to give up their ice-cream or greasy McDonalds."

Even the Australian Medical Association got behind Anthony. "The key toxins for unborn children are tobacco and alcohol so for avoiding both of those she should be congratulated," said president Steve Hambleton. He added that it is okay to be a vegetarian while pregnant. "It sounds like broadly the diet she's consuming is not inappropriate, in a sense that you can eat a variety of things in a variety of ways. The principals of a good diet are to get a broad access to nutrients and our bodies are pretty good at synthesising [sic] stuff."

In addition to bananas, Anthony says she is eating a range of vegetables and fruits combined with healthy fats and protein like, "coconut yoghurt, hemp seeds, avocados, chia seeds, miso soup, sea vegetables and sauerkraut." To her naysayers, she says, "I feel like if I were to sit here and post a picture up of me eating a tub of ice-cream and a large McDonalds [sic] meal, on the couch with swollen feet and a headache, people wouldn't blink an eyelid but I eat some bananas, smoothies, super foods, and abundant fruits and veggies, and I'm labeled as irresponsible and extreme. Society can be really weird."

Prior to her extreme eating regimen, Anthony was a self-proclaimed heavy drinker who used to spend many of her nights partying. She believes the diet changed not only her body, but her personality. "I've become so much more grounded and connected with myself and all of my surroundings. I see things more clearly. I'm more accepting. I feel so different and like I have so much more to give to the world and people around me," she told News Austrailia.